MARK CUBAN—DATING COACH?

I recently watched an episode of Shark Tank when Mark Cuban said “No matter how many times you get shot down, you will get smarter, better.” In my business career, I’ve had a total of four career-type jobs. Truthfully, I learned from all of them, but the fourth one was my “career maker.” I’ve also invested in or started eight companies, of which only two made it big. Mark Cuban also says that’s all you need—one big success. I only batted one-for-four, but that would make me a lot of money as a major league baseball player.

So let’s look at love. How many relationships have you had in your life? Me, I’ve dated many, many times in my life, but I’ve only had eight relationships that lasted more than a few dates. Two of them turned into long-term successes. My current relationship is the absolute true love of my life. Again, I only batted one-for-four.

Mark Cuban has another well-known quote. “It comes down to finding something you love to do and then just trying to be great at it.” Maybe Mark Cuban should be a dating coach, for his business analogies apply. If you don’t get in the market and give it your best shot, how will you ever succeed? Mark, I’m sure you know a similar quote from Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem In Memoriam, which was written back in 1850: “’Tis better to have loved and lost then never to have loved at all.”

Every now and then an entrepreneur starts his first project and strikes gold. Not very often. Similarly, I’m sure you’ve met an elderly couple that fell in love in their early teens and never looked back. Bless them all. However, this is the exception rather than the rule. For most of you, life will be much more a complex cornucopia of options. Over the years you will have multiple jobs, and probably several relationships. In either scenario, when you find a “true love,” do your best to honor it and be great in it. It may take you several tries to find it, but life was meant to be lived. Go for it! And when you find it, never alter what got you to the altar!